Quote of the Week

The best swordsman in the world does not need to fear the second best swordsman, but the man ignorant of swords and knowledgeable about gun-powder. Mark Twain.

Correction. Reader Jack Moore writes, "A favorite of mine, too, but not exactly a direct quote. The actual quote is from Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court:

[T]here are some things that can beat smartness and foresight? Awkwardness and stupidity can. The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do; and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot.

Mark Twain (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Chapter XXXIV)"